Lesson Plan – Elizabeth A.
West
Lesson Title
Subject Area/Topic
Enduring Understanding
Content
Objectives
Content Area Standards
— CC.1.3.6.C. Describe how a particular story or drama’s plot unfolds in a series of episodes, as well as how the
PA CCSS
Materials
Time
(min.)
Entry/Focus Activity Students receive a daily “Do Now” bell ringer question to answer in their
5
“Bell Ringer”
Anticipatory Set
5 Connection/“Hook”
Content Delivery
5 Instruction &/or
Modeling“I Do”
Active Engagement
20 Guided “We Do” &/or Group
“They Do” Practice
Work Toward
5 Mastery
Independent “You Do”
Practice
Closure
5 Exit Ticket/ Link/Extension
Assessment
Formative &/or Summative
Questions about the Book: Merci Suárez Changes Gears – Meg Medina
Brief Summary
1 of the Book
How realistic is the
2 characterization?
Did the main
character have to
3 make an ethical
decision?
Why do you think
4 the author wrote
this book?
What will your
5 students take
from the book?
Lesson Information
Merci Suárez Changes Gears - Meg Medina (Candlewick, 2018). Grade 6th
English Language Arts – Reading for Aesthetic Enjoyment
Students will read for enjoyment a novel to which they can relate.
At the end of this lesson the students will be able to:
1. explain the main plot of the story & relate aspects of their own lives to Merci’s
2. participate positively in group discussions of the book
3. use evidence from the book to support their opinions
CC.1.3.6.A. Determine the central idea of a text & how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a
summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments; CC.1.3.6.B. Cite textual evidence to support
analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences &/or generalizations drawn from the text;
characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution; CC.1.3.6.K. Read & comprehend literary
fiction on grade level, reading independently & proficiently.
 literature journals  pencils
 Merci Suárez Changes Gears books  exit tickets
Lesson Activities
literature journals, “What character in the book do you relate to most, and why?”
The group will discuss the bell ringer question, and see how their answers are
alike or different.
Teacher will model using an example from the story and relating it to his/her own
life (for example, when I was middle school age, my grandmother was diagnosed
with Alzheimer’s), discussing details from the story.
Students will discuss in the small group their thoughts on the story and how their
own lives may or may not relate to different aspects of the story.
As the discussion progresses, students should be able to share their thoughts and
make connections using evidence from the book more independently and with
less assistance from the teacher.
Students will complete an exit ticket, noting one thing they were surprised by, one
thing that was interesting to them, and one question they still have.
For this lesson, assessment will be formative: observations of small group
discussion, reading journal entries, and exit ticket
Merci is a sixth grader dealing with the difficulties of growing up, including
worrying about her grandfather’s health and adjusting to a new school, a private
school where she is a scholarship student.
I thought the characterization was very realistic, thorough, and relatable for middle
school students, as Merci tries to navigate her changing relationships with her
parents, siblings, grandparents, and schoolmates.
Merci had to make a difficult ethical decision that was very personal and
emotional, as it had to do with her grandfather, who didn’t want her to share with
the family some of the symptoms he is experiencing, so she had to decide whether
it would be more supportive to do that, or to tell the family about his struggles.
I think the author wrote the book to explore issues that she went through as a
middle school student, including ethnic and class-based, and to provide a window
for some and a mirror for others of the Latin experience in the US.
I think this book is very relatable for students as they navigate relationships and
how they change as the students grow and change throughout their middle school
years, and thinking about both school and family relationships.